Local tomato growers recently put their all into producing the biggest fruit they could coax from Mother Earth. At stake were bragging rights in the 2015 Tomato Battle hosted by the Lowndes County Extension Service office and Lowndes Farm Supply.
Honors for the largest specimen went to Frank Golden of Columbus for his 22.83-ounce tomato. The entry weighing in at almost one and one-half pounds was of the Believe It Or Not variety.
“We basically had three contests going with three varieties of tomatoes,” said Extension Agent Reid Nevins, explaining that Genuine and Celebrity varieties were also grown this summer by participants.
In the Believe It Or Not category, Benny Yarbrough’s 21.61-ounce tomato was the second largest; Josh Tilley’s entry was third, at 17.55 ounces.
First place in the Genuine variety went to Paul Moore with a 20.41-ounce tomato. Diane Priebe was second, at 16.75 ounces. Marie Beene was third, at 16.03 ounces.
Benny Yarbrough took the top spot in the Celebrity variety with a fruit weighing 16.67 ounces. David Hester was second, at 12.22 ounces. Cindy Cranford was third, at 8.20 ounces.
The primary purpose of the good-natured competition is to introduce growers to newer disease-resistant varieties, Nevins said. Tomato plants were distributed to participants in April at a seminar. During the week of July 13-17 growers brought their best to the Extension Service office in Columbus to be weighed. Area businesses donated prizes and cash for the winners.
For more information about the Extension Service or next year’s contest, contact Nevins at 662-328-2111.
Jan Swoope is the Lifestyles Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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